Motor conveyor and stripper



July 12, 1960 J. J. NlcoLAzzl 2,944,685

MOTOR CONVEYOR AND STRIPPER Filed Feb. 19, 1959 3 Sheets--Sllee1'l 1 II|||| I,

VCA.

July 12, 1960 J. J. NlcoLAzzl 2,944,685

MOTOR coNvEYoR AND s'rRIPPER Filed Feb. 19, 1959 s sheets-sheet 2 faQ/f July 12, 1960 J. J. NlcoLAzzl MOTOR coNvEYoR AND STRIPPER 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 19, 1959 United Ster-@Sheet i@ The present invention relates to equipment :for handling lithographie plates and other platesl of similar nature.

The invention is particularly directed to strippinggconV veying and unloading apparatus for receiving lithographie `plates from the wicket of lanovenpconveying the lplates to an unloaderand stacking the -plates on Va removable platform for further transportation.

It is an object of the invention Vtopro/vide improved l Y .apparatus .which -is of simpleyetstrong and durableconstructionand is substantially free frommaintenance yexpense over along period,oftime. v y v The characteristics, objects Vand advantages ofthe in.- vention will appear more f ully from the .following de,- scripticn'and claims in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which Vshow aV preferred'.embodimentofthe inventionv and in which:

'.Figs. laland lb aretogether Vand l n *y .n

i Figs. 2a and 2b. are together.asideselevatiomY u l As illustrated in the-drawings,fthe apparatusconsistsof a stripper, a-conveyorv andan unloader.' The stripper which is locatedat the right handside (1'1`igs..ll7` and 2b) takes lithographic plates from Vthe wicket W of y.an oven. It comprises aY frameY -1 which'is/pivoted. at.2 to swing about a'horizontaltransverse axis. vThe frame llcarries a belt conveyor consisting of- .a transverse..drive shaft, stub shafts 4, pulleys;5.carried.by` the; shaftsand. belts 6 running on the pul1eysL.,Thefconveyor is .shownfas comprising three equallyfspaced.parallel beltsfof which the central belt is shorterand extendsfinto a'central/c'ut- Yout fportion of the Vwicket W. The belts.6'arerpreferably formed ofiiat strips of belt rmaterial having opposite ends pinned or otherwise releasably.. secured togetherso that the l belts Yare removable and replaceable without disassembling the equipment.V The belts of the. conveyor lare maintained under proper tension by suitable idler pulleys carried on'arnisproiecting'radially from a shaft which is located below vandY parallel to the ,drive shaft 3, one such idler-pulley together with` its supportingarm-being shown. by way"of YexampleY jat 7. The idler pulleysfengage the lower runs "faclleltl` ,Theonveyor is driven -byl angelectric lrhn't'i" "8`"which 'is mounted on the frame Iad'drives" tue'ur'iv shafrsfhr'eugha belt 9; The entire frame 1 together with the belt conveyor carried by the frame is. swingable about the pivots 2 air'planvof the apparaths from the normal operating position as shown insolid lines in Fig. 2b to an inclined position as shown in broken lines. The -frame 1 is counterbalanced by means of weights M suspended from chains 10 at each side of the frame. Stop pins `11 limit theupward movement of the stripper frame. vIn normal operation, the counterweights M hold the stripper frame up against the stop pins 11. The wicket W is intended to deliver one plate at a time to the stripper. If through malfunctioning the wicket delivers two or more plates at once the additional weight of thefplates causes the stripper to swing downwardly about its pivots so that the excess plates are discharged from the stripper which then swings back to its normal operating position.

fr 2,944,685'4 Patented July, v12,Y 1960 2. Y p v,

jThe conveyorfor transporting the plates from the stripper to` the Yunloader has a frame Ystructure 12. rotatably supporting shafts 13 and 14 carrying pulleys 15 on which conveyor belts 16 run. The conveyor is shown ascomprising four parallel beltswhich are (offset, laterally from the belts Y6 of the stripper. Each of the belts l16 preferably comprises a strip of belt material having Yits oppositeV endsV secured'together by a `pin or other releas-` able fastening means so that the belts can beY removed and replaced readily. The belts ,16 are 'kept tightrby means` of idlerpulleys 17 which engage the lower runs of the belt and are carried by arms projecting from a shaftextending transversely of the frame of the machine parallel torthelpulley shafts 13 .anni '14 .v TheY conveyor shaft 13`is driven bywapbelt 18 from an electric Amotor 19. through speed' reducing pulleys Y20.Y *In` addition to thepulleys 1,5 for belts 16,the shaft 13 alsopcarries pulleys 21-for short conveyor. belts 22 running-over pulleys v23 on ashaft24.

ve short vconveyor belts 22 which are offset laterally fromfthe belts 16. Above` the short belts 22 thereY are provided holddown rollers 275 which are carriedrbyY arms 26 on a transverse shaft 27. The rollers 25 'engage the upper faces of the plates as they are discharged from the end ofthe kconveyor so that the plates remain substantially horizontalrasthey are discharged. The arms 26 .carryingrthe rollers 25 are adjustablev so that the angle of discharge of' the plates` can be regulated.

l The unloaderhas a frame 30 made` upV of flat bar stock comprising .four vertical bars atv Vthe four corners of the Vframea'nd horizontal bars connecting thevertical bars.

f 50 extending transversely of the machine.

There are also four vvertical round bars 31 `whichare secured to opposite' horizontal members of the frameA and provide tracks for a vertically, movableY carriage 32 having rollers 33 that run on the 'tracks 31.N The elevator carriage 32 is shown as having V`a baseplate 32a and an vupper plate 32h which are'connected together' at their rear edges by ahinger34sor thatpthe upper plate 32bis `tiltable relative to the carriage. Legs 35Vproject downwardly from. the upper plate B2b and extend through holes in the lower plate 32a. Akroller conveyor 36 is mounted on the upper plate 32b `and is adapted to` support a platform37 which is for example ofrthekind usedv with fork-lift trucks. The upper plate 32h can, Iif desiredybe ,omitted in which event the yframeof the conveyor 36 is hinged to the .base plate 32a-and the legs 35 would be secured to .and extendV `down fromV the frame of the conveyor 36. `The elevator carriage 32 is supported by a central jack shaft 38.which is illustrated as beingV the shaft of ascrew jack 39 driven by a shaft 40fromV a motor 41. It will Abe; understood that instead` ofthe screw jack a hydraulic `or other jack may be used. The elevator carriage 32 is `movable verticallyrfroman upper position as shown in solid lines to a lowenpositionjas .shownfinbroken lines- The plates discharged 'from theconveyor into the vEach of the stops 45 is supported by two bars 48 suspended from collars 49 which are rotatable on a shaft the shaft 50 is provided with sleeves S1 that slide on bars 52 extending in a fore and aft direction at the sides of the machine. The shaft 50 carrying the stop plates 45 is thus adjustablev in a forward and rearward direction for use with different size plates. It is held in As illustrated in the drawing. there arev At its ends adjusted position by thumb screws in the sleeves 51 that engage the bars 52. The collars 49 from which the stop plates 45 are suspended by bars 48 are positioned in correct location longitudinally of the shaft 50 byY a sleeve or collar 53 which is pinned or otherwise secured to the shaft S0. The fixed Sleeves 53 areV preferably provided with stops or abutments so that the plates 45 can be swung in a clockwise direction a little more than 180 from-the downward position shown so as toV have them outof the way when unloading a platform. Each of the rear stop plates 45 has a shaft 54 projecting rearwardly from it and carrying a counterweight 55. The weight 55 is adjustable alongA the shaft 54 so as to control the poistion in which the stop plates hang and their resistance to the impact of lithographie plates discharged from the conveyor.

The side plates 46 are carried by cross bars 56 that are slidable on the space shafts 57 extending transversely of the unloader. The two side plates 46 are movable toward and away from one another by means of a rightleft, screw shaft 58 which extends transversely of the machine parallel to the shafts 57 and is engaged by threaded nut portions on the cross bars 56. The threaded shaft 58 is rotatable by means of a handwheel 59 in order to set the plates 46 in proper position for-,different sizes of lithographie plates that are being handled. 'Ihe front plate 47 is stationary.

The motor 41 operating the elevator carriage of the unloader is reversible and is controlled by switch means including a switch 60 mounted on the frame of the unloader and actuated by a roller which is set in position to be engaged by the lithographie plates when they have piled up to a selected height on the platform 37. kWhen the switch 60 is actuated by engagement of the uppermost plate piled on the platform 37 the motor 41 is driven to lower the platform 37 a selected distance. This operation is repeated successively as the plates continue yto be stacked on the platform 37. As the elevator 32 approaches the lower limit of its movement, the legs 35 engage the floor or other abutment surface. This causes the roller conveyor 36 to tilt about the hinge 34 so as to be inclined rearwardly as illustrated in broken lines vin Fig. 2a. The inclination of the roller conveyor 36 causes the loaded platform 37 to roll olf of the elevator onto another conveyor for example a roller conveyor (not shown). The motor 41 is then reversed by a manual switch to raise the elevator. As the elevator is being raised a new platform 37 is shoved onto the elevator by an operator. The downward and upward movement of the elevator is limited by suitable limit switches so that 'the elevator moves only a predetermined distance.

' The machine as thus described is of simple construction with only a minimum number of parts. It is hence economical to build and is operable for long periods of time with minimum maintenance. The stripper, conveyor and unloader is'each driven by its own electric motor. There are no friction clutches or other elements that require frequent servicing.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has i been illustrated in the drawings and particularly described,

emulated.

it will be understood that the invention is in no way limited to this embodiment.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In equipment for handling lithographie plates, apparatus comprising stripper means for stripping plates from an oven wicket, said means including means for discharging excess plates from `said oven wickets clear of the apparatus, conveyor means for receiving said plates from said stripper means, and unloader means for receiving and stacking said lithographie plates from said conveyor means, said unloader means comprising a frame, spaced parallel vertically extending tracks positioned by said frame, a double bottom carriage movable vertically on said tracks,vthe upper of said bottoms being hinged at one edge to the lower bottom, said lower bottom havingan oriice opposite said hinged end and said upper bottom having a tilting leg mountedV on. its lower side and projecting through said orice in said lower bottom, `a roller conveyor mounted on said -upper bottom of said mounted on said upper bottom, a platform supported on said roller conveyor, said platform being positioned when said carriage is moved upwardly a selected dis tance to receive plates from said conveyor means and vto accumulate said plates in a vertical stack, control means actuated by said plates to activate said power means to move said carriage downwardly progressively as said plates are accumulated, the engagementV of said stop with said tilting leg causing said upper bottom on which said .roller conveyor is mounted to rotate about its hinged lend and to tilt in a direction to discharge said platform and accumulated plates laterally from said roller conveyor when a selected number of plates have been ac- 2. Apparatus as described in claim 1 characterized in that said stripper means comprises supporting means, a belt conveyor system horizontally pivoted at one end to saidsupporting means, a weight attached to said pivoted end of said system for counterbalancing the weight of said system and a lithographie plate and maintaining said system in approximately horizontal normal operating position, whereby any additional weight of additional lithographie plates causes said system to rotate downward about said pivots to discharge said excess plates and then again counterbalanced toswing upward about said pivots to said normal operating position.

References Cited in the file of `this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,949,964 Keller et al. Mar.. 6, 1934 2,058,729 Sekulski r Oct. 27, 1936 2,472,225 Muddiman June 7, 1949 Rockhill Apr. 30, 1957 

